Become an Australian citizen (by conferral)

Persons 16 or 17 years of age

Becoming a citizen by conferral is a common way to become an Australian citizen. You need to be a permanent resident and meet certain criteria before you can apply.

Overview

Cost

For the list of citizenship fees, see Form 1298i – Citizenship application fees.

Fee concessions and exemptions apply.

Processing times

Check our processing times

You must

be 16 or 17 years of age at the time you lodge your application
apply on your own
be a permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa (SCV)
intend to live in Australia or maintain a lasting link with Australia while overseas.

Things to note

You must apply on your own by following the process outlined on this page.
A parent cannot include you in an application they make for Australian citizenship.
New Zealand citizens holding an SCV are considered permanent residents for citizenship purposes.
You may already be an Australian citizen and eligible for Evidence of Australian citizenship if you were born in Australia:
- and have been ordinarily resident in Australia throughout the first 10 years from your birth
- to New Zealand citizen parents. Check your eligibility.

Eligibility

When you apply, you must be either:

A permanent resident

You must be a permanent resident.

A New Zealand citizen holding a Special Category (subclass 444) visa (SCV)

New Zealand citizens holding an SCV are considered permanent residents for citizenship purposes.

You must also meet these criteria:

Age requirement

You must be 16 or 17 years of age at the time you lodge your application. You must apply on your own.

Residence requirement

You must have spent enough time in Australia to show that you:

understand the nature of your application
have a basic knowledge of the English language and
understand the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship.

Close and continuing link with Australia

We must be satisfied that you are likely to live or continue to live in Australia, or maintain a close and continuing link with Australia while overseas.

Citizenship is a privilege that requires a long-term commitment to Australia.

A close and continuing link with family or other social relationships in Australia, may not be considered as having a close and continuing link with Australia. This includes association with people who are Australian citizens.

When we assess your close and continuing link with Australia, we will consider your living arrangements and migration status. This includes:

any commitments or ties to Australia. This includes schooling arrangements, your source of income, employment and family situation
your travel into and out of Australia. This includes your reason for travel, the number of times you travelled into and out of Australia, and how long you were in each place
participation in the Australian community. This includes being part of community groups, clubs or charities that provides services or opportunities
if you have close Australian permanent resident or citizen family members who intend to live in Australia.

For information on the supporting documents we need, see Evidence of close and continuing link to Australia in Step by step.

Step by step

Step 1

Make sure you are eligible

You need to meet our requirements before you apply.

Check your eligibility

Step 2

Prepare your documents

Provide evidence to show that you meet our requirements.

Give us:

scans of your original documents if you are applying online
certified copies of all other documents if you have to lodge a paper application
as much information as possible to help us decide on your application
each document only once, even if you are using it to show more than one thing
all requested documents lodged with your application.

Identity documents

Provide evidence of your identity from birth to present.

Give us 3 documents that together will show us your:

birth name, date of birth and gender
photograph
signature
current residential address.

We also need official evidence of any change of name.

If we are not satisfied of your identity, we cannot approve your citizenship application.

Evidence of date of birth, sex, gender and any changes of name

For change of date of birth

Provide a full birth certificate that shows your parents’ names.

If you cannot give us a birth certificate provide:

a family or household registration document or
any other collection of documents issued to you before your arrival in Australia that collectively confirm your identity from birth.

For change of sex and/or gender, provide any one of the following:

a statement from a Registered Medical Practitioner or a Registered Psychologist which specifies your sex and/or gender
a valid Australian Government travel document, such as a valid passport, which specifies your sex and/or gender
any RBDM certificate that reflects the changed sex and/or gender, such as a gender recognition certificate, a revised RBDM birth certificate, a recognised details certificate or an identity acknowledgment certificate.

For change of name, provide any one of the following include:

change of name documents from an Australian registry or births, deaths and marriages, or the relevant overseas authority
adoption court order
other official documents that show links between names you have been known by.

Photograph and signature

Examples of documents include:

Australian driver licence
pages from a valid passport (photo, personal details, passport issue and expiry dates)
national identity card
United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) document
Australian issued proof of age card.

Evidence of residential address

Examples of home address documents include:

electricity, gas or water bill
rates notice
rental contract
bank statement.

Photograph

Provide a photo of you.

For more information, see Photo requirements for citizenship applications.

Australian National Police Check

If you are 16 years of age or over, we will request a check on your behalf from the National Police Checking Service. We ask your responsible parent to consent to do this on your citizenship application.

Supporting documents

Evidence of residence in Australia

Give us evidence to show that you:

understand the nature of your application
have a basic knowledge of the English language; and
understand the responsibilities and privileges of becoming an Australian citizen.

Examples of documents include:

school reports
Australian driver licence
employment contracts and pay slips
letters or statutory declarations from community organisations and schools.

Evidence of close and continuing link to Australia

Give us evidence to show that you have an intention to live or continue to live in Australia, or maintain a close and continuing link with Australia.

Examples of documents include:

a statement which explains your absence from Australia if you will be overseas for six months or more in the next few years
employment contracts and pay slips
receipts for payments of planned relocation, such as air fares or removalists
letters confirming school enrolment, such as a school enrolment deposit receipt
letters or statutory declarations from community organisations
passports, visa labels or national identity documents from countries outside Australia. These must show the citizenship and migration status of immediate family members
a letter from an organisation showing you have been offered a study or sporting opportunity outside Australia. This must include the details of this opportunity
medical letters or other documents showing you have been caring for a sick relative outside Australia
air fares and airline tickets with a return date if you have been outside Australia on an extended holiday
a letter showing how your relationship with extended family members in Australia allows you to maintain a close and continuing association with Australia.

Identity documents for your responsible parent

Provide identity documents for your responsible parent. Examples of documents include:

Australian driver licence
passport.

Online application

How to prepare documents for an online application in ImmiAccount.

Translate

Have all non-English documents translated into English.

If you apply in Australia, use a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters

If you apply outside Australia, contact or check the website of an Australian Government embassy or consulate in that country that issued your document for advice on acceptable translators.

Translators should include their:

full name
address and telephone number
qualifications and experience in the language they are translating.

These documents should be in English.

Scan

Scan all your original documents (English and non-English) in colour.

The scans should be legible and meet our requirements.

If a document is more than one page save it all as one file.

Attach

Attach a document only once, even if you are using it to show more than one thing.

Learn more about attaching documents.

Paper application

Use a paper application if you:

do not have a current or expired passport or travel document
have not travelled into or out of Australia since July 1990 or
are eligible for a fee exemption.

If this does not apply to you, apply online.

How to prepare documents for the application form:

Translate

Have all non-English documents translated into English.

If you apply in Australia, use a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.

If you apply outside Australia, contact or check the website of an Australian Government embassy or consulate in that country that issued your document for advice on acceptable translators.

Translators should include their:

full name
address and telephone number
qualifications and experience in the language they are translating.

These documents should be in English.

Certify

Get all documents certified. This includes:

non-English documents
English translations.

Copies of original documents should be certified by a person who:

is an Australian citizen
works in a designated occupation
is not related to you by birth, marriage or de facto relationship.

Follow our step-by-step advice for certification of original documents.

Keep

Keep a copy of your completed application.

Step 3

Apply for citizenship

Apply and pay online in ImmiAccount.

To help us to finalise your application quickly:

complete your application online, if possible and
give us all the documents listed for your application type.

You can apply from in or outside of Australia.

Online application

See how to submit your citizenship application online in ImmiAccount.

You must pay the fee when you lodge your application.

See How to pay.

Paper application

Complete Form 1290 Australian Citizenship Other situations..

Pre-pay your application fee online through ImmiAccount. Send your application with certified copies of documents to the address on the form.

Step 4

Citizenship appointment

You may have an interview with us to confirm you identity and to show you understand the responsibilities and privileges of becoming an Australian citizen.

You do not have to sit the citizenship test.

See Learn about the citizenship interview

New step description

Step 5

Wait for our decision

Provide us with any extra documents we ask for, and let us know if any of your circumstances change, for example, if you change your name or other details.

Additional documents

We may ask for additional documents or original copies of your documents. We will contact you directly if needed.

Change in circumstances after applying

You will need to tell us if you have changed your name or other details since applying for citizenship.

Tell us about changes in your situation.

Check the progress of your application

If you applied online, you can check how far your application has progressed by logging into ImmiAccount.

Step 6

Outcome

We will tell you in writing. You will receive a letter from us when we make a decision on your application.

Approval

We will send you a letter if we approve your application.

For most people, the final step to becoming an Australian citizen is to make the pledge of commitment at a citizenship ceremony. If you need to make this final step, you will be sent a letter inviting you to a ceremony.

Some people do not have to attend a ceremony to make the pledge of commitment. If you do not need to make the pledge of commitment, you will become an Australian citizen on the day we approve your application. Your citizenship approval letter and citizenship certificate will be posted to you.

Refusal

If we refuse your application, we will send you a letter explaining the reasons. You can ask for a review by the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Your letter will tell you:

the reasons for the decision
where to lodge a request for a review
time limits for requesting a review.

Step 7

Attend a citizenship ceremony

Most applicants for citizenship by conferral must attend a citizenship ceremony to make the pledge of commitment to become an Australian citizen. You will receive your citizenship certificate after you make the pledge of commitment at your ceremony.

If you need to attend a ceremony, you will be sent an invitation letter about four weeks before the ceremony. See Citizenship ceremony.

Wait times for citizenship ceremonies can vary. See Ceremony wait times.

If you do not need to attend a citizenship ceremony, we will send your citizenship certificate to you by registered post after we approve your application. See Postage times.

Check that your name and date of birth are correct on the certificate. If they are wrong, contact us as soon as possible.

New step description

After you apply

Processing times

Come to your appointment

Wait for our decision

Travelling outside Australia

Outcome

Attend a citizenship ceremony

If we made an error with your citizenship certificate

Getting an Australian passport

Voting in elections

Processing times

Our citizenship processing times gives you an indication of how long your citizenship application may take to process.

Your application may take longer to process if:

you do not complete it correctly
you do not include all the documents we need, or we need more information from you
it takes us time to verify your information.

We cannot process your application if you do not pay the correct citizenship application fee. We will notify you if this is the case and may return your application to you.

For more information see citizenship processing times.

Come to your appointment

You may have an interview with us to show you understand the responsibilities and privileges of becoming an Australian citizen.

Find out about the interview.

Wait for our decision

Provide us with any extra documents we ask for and let us know if your circumstances change.

We may ask for additional documents or originals. We will contact you directly if needed.

You must tell us if your circumstances have changed since applying for citizenship. See changes in your situation.

If you applied online, you can check how far your application has progressed through ImmiAccount.

Travelling outside Australia

Let us know if you need to travel outside Australia while we process your application or while you are waiting for your ceremony.

In most cases, we cannot approve your application while you are outside Australia. You must also make the pledge of commitment within 12 months of your application approval. If you do not, we may cancel the approval.

If you need to travel, you must travel on your current passport. Make sure you have a valid visa that allows you to re-enter Australia. If the travel conditions on your visa have expired or are about to expire, you must apply for a Resident Return visa.

Outcome

We will tell you in writing. You will receive a letter from us when we make a decision on your application.

If we approve your application and you need to attend a citizenship ceremony, you will be sent an invitation letter generally about four weeks before the ceremony. See citizenship ceremony.

If we refuse your application, we will send you a letter explaining the reasons. You can ask for a review by the Administrative Review Tribunal.

Your letter will tell you:

the reasons for the decision
where to lodge a request for a review
time limits for requesting a review.

Attend a citizenship ceremony

If you need to attend a ceremony, you will be sent an invitation letter about four weeks before the ceremony. See citizenship ceremony.

Wait times for citizenship ceremonies can vary. See ceremony wait times.

If you do not need to attend a citizenship ceremony, we will send your citizenship certificate to you by registered post after we approve your application. See postage times.

If we made an error with your citizenship certificate

If you believe we made an error on your certificate, contact us as soon as possible. For example, if we printed your name or date of birth incorrectly.

If we made the error, you may not need to apply to change your citizenship certificate if you let us know within six weeks of receiving your certificate.

You may need to apply to change your evidence of Australian citizenship. This applies if you:

let us know of the error after the six weeks’ time frame, or
provided incorrect details when applying which resulted in the error.

If we made the error, we can refund the evidence application fee. We cannot refund this fee if you provided incorrect details when applying which resulted in the error. For more information on how to request a refund, see getting a refund.

Getting an Australian passport

You cannot apply for an Australian passport until you have received evidence of your citizenship from us.

For information about applying for an Australian passport, including how long it takes, visit the Australian passport office website.

Voting in elections

You must enrol to vote if you are 18 years old or more.

Enrolling to vote will allow you to vote in a government election or referendum.

At your ceremony, we will give you an information sheet with a QR code to help you to enrol to vote online.

To enrol:

Visit the AEC website
Get an enrolment form at any Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) office
Call the AEC to request a form.

For more information, see the AEC website.